


Life Sentence

by McKayRulez



Series: <-Sam & Rodney - Geeks in Love - < [17]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Courtroom Drama, Declassification (Stargate), Divorce, Dystopia, Episode: s03e03 Irresistible, Episode: s10e13 The Road Not Taken, F/M, Gen, Government, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Law Enforcement, Poor Life Choices, Wraith, Wraith Feeding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 11:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18548551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKayRulez/pseuds/McKayRulez
Summary: With the secrets of the existence of aliens out and walking among us, the government has started to change. One of these ways is being the law system for both galaxies..."O’Neill shook a finger, as he tisked. “You just like adding more years, don’t you?” Lavin paled, and Jack tilted his head. “Do try to survive all eighty-four wraith before you die. It’s the polite thing to do when taking a wraith to dinner. After all, it’s always so awkward to have extras that were promised food leaving literally empty handed.”





	1. Life Given, Life Lost

Court was in session. The jury had just returned after their deliberation. The accused, Lucius Lavin was forced up to stand in front of his two judges, General Judge Hank Landry and General Judge Jack O'Neill. 

Hank looked over to the the standing spokesman, Mr. Woolsey, to his left. “Has the Jury come to a decision?” 

Richard cleared his throat, and straightened his back. “Yes, your honour.” He brought the document up and read, “We the Jury find the defendant, Lucius Lavin, on the charge of possession of illegal narcotics. Guilty.” 

Lucius huffed audibly and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. 

“On the charge of drug manufacturing and cultivation. Guilty.” 

“Those were natural herbs!” Lucius argued as he looked around bewildered. 

O’Neill eyed the annoying guy before him. “I suggest Mr. Larvin, that you shut the hell up.” 

Cameron, the rookie ‘reaper’ held back a snicker. 

“We’re sorry, your honours.” His attorney, Dr. Daniel Jackson apologized, before turning to Lucius and whispering harshly in his ear, “Calm down, before you make things worse!”

Landry glanced away, back to Mr. Woosley. “Continue.” 

“On the charge of fraud. Guilty.” 

Lucius shrugged looking smug. “Well now, that’s just in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it?” He looked behind him, at the observing pews. “Am I right?” 

His attorney restrained himself from face palming and shaking his head. 

“Is it too late to add a charge of being a public nuisance.” O’Neill asked lowly, to his reapers situated at his right, Colonel Cameron and Colonel Sheppard, with only just by the tiniest bit being sarcastic. 

“Never too late, sir.” Mitchell winked. 

The threat caused Lucius’ head to swivel back to attention and abruptly close his jaw. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long. 

“On the six charges of rape.”

Willa, Heleen, and the four other former wives held each other's hands and held a collective breath. 

“Guilty.”

Lucius looked back to Judge Landry straight face and pointed. “Now I object! I was married to those women!” 

Daniel looked up at the ceiling hopeless. He knew this creeper was a lost cause. 

“On the six charges of administration of drugs to acquire intercourse. Guilty.” 

Willa, Heleen and the other four women hugged each other, relieved at the outcome. 

Jack disinterestedly flipped through his notes, then brushed them away, and Landry calculated the years in his head. The two whispered to each other and nodded, then looked to the defendant. “We don’t need time for deciding.” Jack announced, and Landry added, “We’ve made our decision.”

“A-already?” Lucius looked at him worried. 

“We’re sentencing you the maximum sentence.” Jack grinned. 

“B-but are you sure you don’t want to think it over?” 

Landry ignored this sick little man, and stated in an authoritarian tone, “Lucius Lavin, you are sentenced to eighty-four years.” 

Lucius’ jaw dropped, as Landry and Jack slammed their gavel’s together and motioned for Sheppard and Cameron to bring out the wraith horde. 

Cameron and Sheppard’s slipped out the side door. 

“Eighty-four.” Cameron whistled. “A lot of wraith will be fed today.” He said in a teasing manner, trying to take this whole process of being the reapers light heartedly. 

Veteran Reaper, John Sheppard glared on ahead, disinterested in the rookie’s attempt, and was instead determined to get this horrid thing over with. When you’ve seen one life sentence, you’ve seen them all, and it wasn’t something to make fun of. 

They entered the main waiting wing. It was a room large enough to be convention center, and it was packed with awaiting wraith with large white identity and statistical feeding information cards on their chests. 

Cameron went to the closest one and looked over his last feeding date given. “How about this one?” He gestured to Todd, who looked sickly thin and pale. “Hasn’t been fed in three years.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” Sheppard rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get this over with. We have eighty-four to pick from after all.” 

\--

With wide eyes, Lavin watched as a multitude of eighty four wraith being marched in, one by one in a line, with Cameron in the lead, and Sheppard at the back. 

“Aren’t you supposed to say I have the right to take these years now, or serve them out in prison?” Lucius asked warily. He sweated a little and looked on awkwardly, as he nervously babbled. “Do I have to choose now? Can I take a few days to decide if this prison thing is for me? How are the amenities? Is there a gym? Does it have those things called a TV? I heard those are cool.” 

“No.” Jack glared, losing patience with the loud and sleazy little man. He ground his teeth, then explained, “Yes. Usually you’d have the right to choose between living your years out in prison or having your years served via a feeding sacrifice.” 

Landry leaned back in his chair. “However, given that the years sentence go beyond your species living capacity, that automatically constitutes as ‘sentenced to life’, meaning your eighty-four years are forfeit.” 

“But- But what if I did live past eighty-four years?” He gaped. 

Jack raised an unconvinced eyebrow. “Then, Mr. Larvin, your years will be served and you’re a free old man. Congratulations.” He stated lack lustered, then looked to the reapers. “You may begin.” 

Lucius gulped and took a step back as the first wraith, Todd stepped in front of him. 

Cameron stepped beside Todd, and stated the mandatory guideline. “Remember the rule. One year only.” 

“I know.” Todd’s deep voice replied. 

Suddenly, Lucius tried to resist as he unsuccessfully tried to push the wraith away, then quickly spun 180 degrees and tried to make a run for it, shoving Daniel out of the way. 

Michael and Ford that were guarding the way out, slammed into the man head on together and tackled the man to the floor. 

As Michael used his hybrid strength to hold him still, Ford stood and stopped hard unto his leg with the bottom of his combat boots, until a crack of bone breaking was heard and a scream of pain escaped from Lavin’s throat.

Wounded and now safely unable to run, the pair grabbed him by the arms and dragged him across the floor back to the wraith, who had been watching with an old hunters gaze, breathing heavily. 

O’Neill shook a finger as he tisked. “You just like adding more years don’t you?” Lavin paled, and Jack tilted his head. “Do try to survive all eighty-four wraith before you die. It’s the polite thing to do when taking a wraith to dinner. After all, it’s always so awkward to have extras that were promised food, leaving literally empty handed.” 

Michael looked up, and waiting for Judge Landry’s nod to proceed, then reached around the front of Larvin’s shirt and ripped it open. 

The sentence was carried out. 

One by one, the Wraith came and went in there conga line of life. 

Feeding slits pounded the pale, exposed chest. 

The room was filled of sounds and senses. 

Shallow gasps of breathing in between screams of agony. 

The growl of satisfaction of desperately hungry wraith, and the hiss of disappointment, as it was quickly short lived and taken away. 

The bitter stench of sweat, and the sickly sweet aroma of wraith enzyme permeated the air. 

He died of old age on the feasting palm of wraith thirty-three, much to the dismay of the rest, whose hunger had become nearly too much to bare.


	2. Life Ruined, Life Reborn

The spectators in the pews began to file out. Once they left the courthouse, Major Sam and Dr. Rodney McKay squinted into the bright sunshine outside. 

“I can’t believe this is what our court system has come to!” Sam stated incredulously, as the pair made their way down the steps and onto the sidewalk. 

“What do you mean?” He asked. 

“It’s barbaric!” 

“It’s progress.” 

Sam scoffed, rolling her eyes, hands outstretched, and replied with sarcasm . “Yes, it’s totally a step in the right direction to murder people who don’t get the death penalty.” 

Rodney looked to the sky and shook his head. “That only happened because he earned a life sentence. Usually people just get a couple years.” 

“That doesn’t make it right!” 

Rodney pointed, “Hey, it’s their choice! A few years locked away, or get to go back home right now with their friends and family. It’s free will.” 

“Except when it isn’t.” She pointed out. 

He rolled his eyes and defended, “Only the really, really, awful people get that, and they’ve had to do some serious stuff to earn that much. At that point they deserve it.” 

“I thought we abolished the death penalty for a reason!” 

“Yeah, and where did that get us? Prisons filled to the brim, breeding diseases in their cramped cells, and being a waste of their victim’s tax payer money, while they sit around doing nothing all day and still getting fed three free square meals a day.” 

“It was a work in progress,” She admitted. “but it didn’t extinguish an irreplaceable individual!” 

“Just look at the positive! Now people can keep being productive members of society in their own ‘individual ways’, all the while feeding a wraith in need and keeping us out of an intergalactic war that would kill millions of us ‘irreplaceables’. Isn’t a few lives and a few years worth saving millions, if not billions?” 

Sam looked away from her husband. “I just can’t think like that. This whole situation is a slippery slope just waiting to happen.” 

Rodney sighed. Another stupid thing to get into a fight over. At this rate she really was going to leave him for good. So instead he tried to change the subject. “Did you hear Landry is running for President?” 

“Yeah.” Sam nodded looking distant. She then glanced around the street, checking to be sure it was empty. She waited until the two got inside the privacy of their car, before she continued talking. 

“He’s… Actually got me working on a special project.. Something that he thinks will guarantee a presidential victory.” 

“What is it?” 

Sam glanced around the outside of the window suspicious. When she was satisfied it was vacant, she then looked to her husband. “You know I’m not suppose to tell you..” 

“Yeah, yeah confidentiality stuff and all that..” He watched her mood change into anticipation. He smirked back. “But something's got you excited…” 

She never could help it when something of interest sparked in her eye. She just had to tell him. Only he would truly understand the technological marvel that it was. This bond in their genius was their only glue that was keeping them together these days… However, with him no longer working with the SGC, even that was starting to create a further rift in their marriage. 

She smiled. “He’s having me work on power options for the chair.” 

“Oh.. So we’ll finally have access to the drones? That’s good.”

She shook her head, that wasn’t the best bit. “But it’s more than that.” She broke into a grin, “Not just any power! Energy pulled from the multiverse itself!” 

Rodney’s eyes widened. “That- That could be revolutionary!” He felt a pang of jealousy, but also felt pride in his wife. He gave her a small smile. 

She was grinning ear to ear, and clasped her hands together. “I know! It’s such a great opportunity to be the first pioneer of Multiversal energy!” 

Rodney frowned suddenly, as the reality began to fully sink in. “But..” His eyes flickered side to side as calculations started to take root in his mind. 

The Major’s smile faded. “But?” She questioned, already feeling disappointed in him. 

“With so many multiverses and variables, what if you accidentally pick one with people living in it?” 

Sam rolled her eyes dismissively. “It’s astronomically low that that will happen.” 

“But it could.” He enforced. 

“But it wont.” 

He frowned. “You don’t know that.” 

Sam looked away. “Advancing science takes risks. We can’t just stop progress for the maybes and ifs.” 

Rodney raised a hand and gestured to the court house. “You just got mad at the thought of a few people, who are guilty of horrible crimes by the way, losing their lives in the progress of the law, and now you’re willing to potentially kill whole universes for the process of science?” 

She glared at him. “This isn’t the same thing! You’re making it out much worse than it is!” 

“You’re right about one thing, it isn’t the same, because those people back there did evil things, and most of those people willingly choose to sacrifice a few years of lives to be with the people they love. The people’s lives you’re playing goddess with are innocent and have no idea what’s coming to them. They won’t be able to choose their fates.” 

Sam stared hard at him disappointed. “I knew it.. I knew you’d be like this..” 

Rodney’s face softened. “Sam?” 

She shook her head sadly. “Why can’t you ever just be happy for me? Why can’t you ever just support me? You always get so jealous that you have to ruin everything for me.” She looked away. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you.” 

“It’s just so many things can go wrong that I think you’re pointedly ignoring the facts…” 

Rodney’s eyes gazed at her concerned. He glanced down, feeling his heart break at how disappoint she was in him. Maybe she was right.. Maybe it was his ego that always did this to them. “I.. I do support you.. And I am happy for you.. I’m just worried about you.” Rodney reached out to touch her arm and she moved it out of the way, as she opened her car door and stepped out. She looked back at him, as he stared up at her at a lost. 

She held onto the edge of the door as she stared at him and sniffled. She shook her head resolute. “I can’t do this anymore, Rodney.”

Rodney began to mentally beat himself up. This is why he stopped being a scientist. He thought it was the only way to stop the fighting. So why wasn’t it working? Why did they always become like this? The bicker and banter? “Sam? I’m sorry I-” 

“I can’t be with someone who can’t support me.” She looked down at her hand, and took off her ring. 

“No, no.. Sam I can change! I can be better at this thing!” He pleaded. If he loved her enough to give up his dream job, he could love her enough to go to counseling. To get help with his narcissism. Anything to stop this. 

“It’s too late…” She looked away. “You’ve always been more trouble than you’re worth…” She admitted, which struck pain to Rodney’s core. She slammed the car door shut and walked away. 

\--

A few days later, divorce papers arrived in the mail. He didn’t see her again, until she appeared on TV a month later. 

Rodney walked up to Sam, standing in their.. His.. ‘His’ home. She was strangely touching their furniture and artwork. 

His heart pluments when she tells him she isn't his Sam. He refuses to believe it at first, but slowly realizes his worst fear came true. 

He helps her find her way back home to her reality, and now he’s lost two Sams. 

Currently, he’s staring at the technology littering his desk. 

He wonders if losing two genius, beautiful, blue eyed and unique individual Sams was worth the sacrifice of saving their world? 

He also wonders, if he could leave behind of the countless lives of this universe, for one life in another… 

Would it be worth it?.. 

Could he give himself his own life sentence? Prisoned in a different universe, where anything could happen. A world completely foreign and new.. With no guarantees that she’d even give him the time of day in her own universe… 

His fingers trace over the device. 

He left behind his dreams for his first Sam. 

He let the second Sam go for her own happiness. 

‘Yes’, he thinks as he activates the machine. 

It would be worth it.


End file.
